Top 10 free e-books

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April 11, 2000
Web posted at: 9:54 a.m. EDT (1354 GMT)

by Linda L. Grubbs

(IDG) -- Next time you curl up for some reading, do it in front of your PC. When you think of books, you usually don't think of your computer. But you can download free electronic books for fun or intellectual stimulation and read them on your computer, notebook, or Palm Pilot. This week's list contains more classics than your local library, and you'll never get charged late fees. Start by downloading the two standards for viewing e-books, Glassbook Reader and eRocket (both free), then build your own library.

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Find out what all the buzz is about and read Stephen King's latest thriller, available only in e-book form. If horror's your genre, download classics such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Take a virtual ride down the Mississippi with Huck and Jim in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or go to the core of our planet in Journey to the Center of the Earth. Learn the skills necessary to defeat opponents on the battlefield or the meeting room with Art of War. All these titles and more are just a download away.

Top 10 e-books

1. Glassbook Reader: This free reader lets you read electronic books on your notebook or desktop PC. Borrow or order books online, and the reader downloads them. View pages in color, rotate the display to read documents on your laptop, or create a bookmark to take you to the page where you left off. Use it with Adobe PDF e-books and other popular formats.
2. eRocket: This free viewer simulates the Rocket eBook, a portable reading device, on your PC so you can read free RocketEdition eBooks on your desktop. Create shortcut icons to specific sections or titles. Look up unfamiliar words in the Random House Dictionary. Search for bookmarks, underline keywords, or add notes to the e-book with the keyboard-interface Find feature. It doesn't support RocketEdition titles that are for sale, however. For a list of free titles, go to the Rocket Library.
3. Stephen King's Riding the Bullet: Stephen King ushers in the electronic book age with his newest thriller -- available exclusively in e-book form. Hitchhike through rural Maine with Alan Parker, a college student whose car couldn't have broken down at a more inopportune time. This download is available for free at Amazon.com and requires Glassbook Reader. Alternately, you can pay $2.50 to purchase it at netLibrary, a company specializing in e-books.
4. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Read the classic gothic horror story in a whole new light. This free RocketEditon eBook chronicles the macabre tale of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his quest to create life from death. The result of this quest -- a gruesome creature with supernatural strength -- turns into a murderer and forces Dr. Frankenstein to try to destroy his creation.
5. Aesop's Fables: Learn time-honored truths through ancient tales. This fully illustrated and animated electronic book brings Aesop into the digital age. Viewing software is included, but you must register the demo to get the entire collection of stories.
6. Bram Stoker's Dracula: Get the quintessential vampire tale in RocketEdition eBook format. This edition has been converted from a public domain text and adds hypertext browsing for quick navigation.
7. A Journey to the Center of the Earth: Join Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel on an adventure across Iceland and down through an extinct crater to the center of the earth.
8. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: One of the most influential American novels ever still rings true today. A poor southern boy journeys down the Mississippi with a runaway slave. It works as both a social critique of antebellum America and an expression of the profound nature of human experiences.
9. Art of War: Eagerly studied by military leaders in ancient times, modern politicians and executives now use this 2000-year-old book as a guide. This work studies competition and conflict on every level, from the interpersonal to the international. Now you can read it on your PC, in this RocketEdition version.
10. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: You've heard the story and seen the movie, but have you ever actually read the Washington Irving classic? If not, saddle up with Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman for a harrowing ride through Sleepy Hollow with this free RocketEdition eBook.

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